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Date: | Wed, 11 Oct 2000 23:28:49 GMT |
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Ray Bayles writes:
>I am ready to try the Dvorak String Quartets... Is the Prague set the
>one to get if you only have none?
I like Ray's humor. I'm not any expert on Dvorak recordings, but it is
possible that the Prague is the only "set" available. I know that the
Panocha on Supraphon, Stamitz on Bayer, and Kodaly on Naxos have recorded
most if not all of the Dvorak string quartets. Perhaps one or more of them
has been issued as a complete set.
I like the Kodaly very much, and the Naxos price per disc is even lower
than that of the Prague set. The Panocha and particularly the Stamitz
recordings are wonderful performances; the Prague is great also. Hell,
buy them all. And there are also a whole slew of individual recordings
which are excellent such as the two Prazak recordings on Praga. This group
first came to my attention through a Haydn string quartet disc. I thought
the playing was perfect for Dvorak, poor for Haydn. So, I bought their
Dvorak discs and was very pleased. Today, I was listening to an early
Dvorak quartet and was amazed at how long it was - over 60 minutes - and
it sounded real good. Don Vroon of ARG dismisses the early Dvorak string
quartets. Is there any way I can get him dismissed? When he reaches the
end of his life on earth, it would be very fitting to bury him with some
period instruments, a photograph of Harnoncourt, and the scores to the
early Dvorak quartets. But don't bury me with recordings of Mendelssohn,
Liszt, or Tchaikovsky; I'd have to come back from the dead to seek revenge.
Actually, I'd prefer to be cremated but my wife wants us side-by-side for
eternity. That's okay as well.
Don Satz
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